In the battle between Wimmera-Mallee cricket’s “A” grade leaders on Saturday, Donald-Jeffcott made a less-than-impressive start before recovering to post one of the biggest totals of the round.
Winning the toss and electing to bat, second-placed Marnoo broke through with two early wickets, only to see Donald-Jeffcott in control for the rest of the innings, which built rapidly to an impressive 7/258 from its 40 overs.
Central to this outcome were middle-order batters Daniel Atkins, 73, and Lachie Jones, 69 not out, while others among the runs included Will Noble and Eddie Landwehr, 31 each, Nick Atkins 25, and Koby Westerland 12. Marnoo’s multiple wicket-takers were Ben Newton 3/53 (8). Cooper Reading 2/47 (7), and “fill-in” 2/33 (5).
In reply, main contributors for Marnoo were Jack McAllister 27, Stuart Lang 26, Ben Newton 21, and Nic Baird 12, but the total was restricted to 116, largely because of Eddie Landwehr’s bowling figures of 5/32 from his 8 overs. Daniel Atkins also took 2/32 (8), Luca Rice 2/22 (8), and Cooper Anderson 1/8 (2.2).
Sensational figures of the round were those of Birchip’s Jonty Randall, whose 6/19 from 8 overs were largely responsible for Southern Mallee Giants being dismissed for 64 in 23 overs. Riley Doran also claimed 2/7 (4), while Rylee Smith and Connor Lee also picked up a wicket each. Birchip then took just 13.1 overs to hit the front at 66, losing 3 wickets in the process. Leading the way were Will Marks 40 not out, and James Paley 11 not out.
It was “Saints alive” at Anzac Park, Warracknabeal, where St. Arnaud’s decision to bowl first was welcomed by St. Mary’s. Leigh Somers remained not out, just 4 short of a century, while Nick Germano contributed 41, Bailey Watts 37 and Nathan Priest 23, in an impressive 7/227. Five St. Arnaud bowlers shared the wickets, with Jacob Patching taking 2/37 (8), and Kynan Torney 2/29 (5). St. Arnaud’s batting fell well short at 122, after Jacob Patching had scored 32, Ned Gorrie 25, Jayden McCartney 13, Colin Crooks 11, and Brad Williams 10. Leigh Somers rounded out a superb all-round performance with 3/28 (8) for St. Mary’s, while Brodie Dennes also took 2/9 (6) and Bailey Watts 2/30 (8).
“B” Grade
Score of the day went to Charlton on its home wicket, against St. Mary’s. Contributing to the imposing 4/301 were vice-captain Billy Sexton 79 not out, joint captains Patrick Soulsby 63 and Hugh Sait 45, and Sujeesh Sveekala 46 not out. Sharing the wickets for St. Mary’s were Lincoln Westerland 2/42 (7), and Matt Hartnett 2/40 (5). Backing up its memorable batting performance, Charlton then followed up with a bowling barrage, dismissing St. Mary’s for 40, in 23.2 overs. Sean Smith 16, and Lincoln Westerland 12 were the only double-figure scorers. Elliott Fitzpatrick started the batting collapse with 3/5 from 3 overs, followed by 3/9 (4) by Patrick Soulsby, and 2/5 (3.2) from Ethan Soulsby. Patrick Sait and Angus Soulsby also joined in the wicket-taking.
A 136-run partnership by Dale Shannon, 87, and captain Kybe Bellinger, 58, set Southern Mallee Giants on the path to a total of 5/185 at Birchip. Parker Hallam also contributed 16. “Fill-ins” shared the first three wickets to fall, while Joel Emonson also took 1/32 (6). Birchip’s reply began impressively, with Mark Trollope scoring 43, “fill-in” 37, “fill-in” 18, and Jack Knights 13. From then on, however, the innings fell right away, ending at 138. Doing most damage for the Giants were Kybe Bellinger 4/40 (8), and Finn Shannon 2/6 (2).
For Donald-Jeffcott, Ryan Bath had more than a hand in his side’s success at Watchem. With the bat, he scored 47, and with the ball, 5/29 (7). Other notable scorers for Donald-Jeffcott were Sam Postlethwaite 74, Anthony Tatchell 38, and Jack Tellefson 25, and the total climbed to 284. In the circumstances, Austin Dean’s 6/40 were memorable bowling figures. Against the odds, Birchip opener Ty Colbert’s innings of 71 was a remarkable effort, but even with Jam Borden adding 30, Austin Dean 16, and Daniel Slater 10, the innings ended well short at 173.
This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 4 February 2025.
